Preston A. Britner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Family Studies
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
What leads to parents' and providers' satisfaction with child care? Britner and Phillips (1995) studied the issue. We attempted to improve upon existing research by distinguishing the specific dimensions of care that are associated with satisfaction, including assessments of parent and provider attitudes, and studying satisfaction over time using a short-term longitudinal design. We focused on four functional dimensions of continuity as possible predictors of satisfaction for parents and providers: (1) child care as a social support to parents; (2) parent involvement in care; (3) parent-provider agreement on child-rearing beliefs; and (4) parent-provider agreement on the importance of specific dimensions of care, which were valued by parents in their choice of care and by providers in their definition of good quality care. Ratings of satisfaction were obtained from 27 center- and home-based child day care providers and 90 parents whose children were in their care.
Consistent with other research (e.g., Bogat & Gensheimer 1986; Erdwins, Casper, & Buffardi, 1998; Shinn et al., 1991), overall satisfaction with care was high for all groups. Parents are generally satisfied, but it is unclear whether this satisfaction stems from high quality settings or, alternatively, parents' attempts to overcome frustrations and perceptions of limited care options (Shpancer, 1998) or lingering biases regarding non-parental child care (Shpancer & Britner, 1995). Despite high satisfaction, 26% of parents in the National Child Care Survey said they wanted to change their child day care arrangements (Hofferth et al., 1991). Single working parents living in poverty wanted to change their arrangements at even higher rates than did two-parent families. On the basis of most research to date, little is known, for example, about what leads to parental satisfaction with care and whether these correlates of satisfaction vary by type of care.
In our study, center parents and providers and family day care (FDC) parents and providers were all equally satisfied on the dimensions of the care settings' structural quality (e.g., group size) and the quality of interactions between providers and children (e.g., attention to children). Contrary to the hypothesis that provider training and experience and group size would predict satisfaction with care, these variables were significantly associated with satisfaction only for center providers. The importance of functional (e.g., parent-provider interaction) rather than structural (e.g., provider training) markers in predicting satisfaction with care in all groups in this study is in line with previous findings about what dimensions of care are important to parents' satisfaction (Shinn et al., 1991). The traditional "quality" variables of academic research and licensing standards simply were not associated with parents' satisfaction with care.
Parents and providers viewed different aspects of care to be important, depending on the type of care. These dimensions of importance are presented separately for parents and providers involved in FDC (Table 1) and center-based care (Table 2). Satisfaction was then assessed for those aspects of care that were deemed important for quality care. Different predictors of satisfaction with care characteristics emerged for center parents, FDC parents, center providers, and FDC providers.
For parents using centers, self-reports of social support and reported frequency of parent involvement were the only significant predictors of parents' satisfaction with the care arrangement. Parents were more satisfied with the center-based care arrangement if they viewed it as a source of social support and reported high frequencies of involvement in the center.
For parents using family child day care arrangements, social support emerged as the only significant predictor of parents' satisfaction with care. Like center parents, FDC parents who viewed their child day care as a source of social support reported greater satisfaction with aspects of the care arrangement.
Job satisfaction for child care providers is related to training and love of the work (Manlove & Guzell, 1997) and, negatively, to job stress and turnover (Todd & Deery-Schmitt, 1996). In our study, satisfaction with the quality of care provided was related to different aspects of care for FDC and center providers.
Center providers were the only group for which satisfaction with care was significantly predicted by any of the demographic variables. The statistical interaction of the child's age and the provider's status as certified in child day care or early childhood education was significantly associated with center providers' reports of satisfaction with aspects of the child day care arrangement. Certification was more important to center providers' satisfaction with care characteristics for those in charge of older children than for those who cared for younger children. Greater agreement between the parents' important characteristics when selecting care and the providers' important characteristics when rating "good care" was related to relatively higher levels of satisfaction with care for center providers.
For FDC providers, the only significant predictor of satisfaction with care characteristics was parent-provider concordance on traditional child-rearing beliefs, which accounted for half of the variance in satisfaction. High levels of agreement between parents and providers about traditional child-rearing values were associated with satisfaction with characteristics of the child care arrangement for FDC providers.
Child care has been compared to an extended family because of its potential as a means of social support, especially when parent involvement is common and communication is multidirectional (Honig, 1979). By giving emotional support in addition to information and services, care care providers can have a role in the psychological well-being of employed parents. Bronfenbrenner (1979) hypothesized that each environment's developmental potential for the child could be maximized when compatibility existed between the goals of the settings. Continuity across child care and home environments may reflect similarities or differences in the physical or social environment; behavior toward the child; beliefs about child development, rearing, or education; or perceptions of the child (Long et al., 1985).
Most parents using both types of care in the sample viewed their child day care arrangements as a source of extensive informational and emotional support. As a result of feeling supported, parents may experience less stress and be more satisfied with care than those who feel less supported (Schumacher & DeMeis 1992). As such, child care may be more usefully viewed as a social support, rather than a replacement, for the family (Garbarino, 1992).
Child-rearing attitudes of parents and providers represent another area of potential continuity or discontinuity across environments that may influence satisfaction. Pence and Goelman (1987) suggested that differences in parents using FDC and center-based arrangements were defined more by caregiving philosophies and values than by socioeconomic factors. Because parents using family day care choose a particular provider, it may be the case that they select providers who have more similar child-rearing attitudes than do parents using center care.
Agreement between parents and providers on the importance of care characteristics that parents have cited as instrumental in their choice of care may also lead to satisfaction with specific aspects of care for parents and providers. To the extent that parents and providers value the same structural and functional care characteristics of the arrangement, the continuity of goals across the settings may translate into favorable child outcomes and satisfaction for parents and providers (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
Parents seek out care providers and settings that espouse similar value systems, priorities, and expectations of what is important to their children (Kontos, 1993; Powell, 1989). Concordance may lead to providers' satisfaction due to more favorable social outcomes for children as a result of the agreement on goals and role demands across the settings.
Conclusion
On the basis of our work (Britner & Phillips, 1995), I have emphasized the need to look at home and child care environments as interconnected settings. Child-rearing is, in fact, a collaborative effort between parents and child day care professionals. Rather than comparing "home" and "child care" influences on child outcomes or ratings of satisfaction, it is important to look at the joint effects and interactions between these environments. Satisfaction with the child day care arrangement, if not the "quality" of the care, resides in the intersection of the two systems in which children are functioning, learning, and developing.
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For more information on this topic, please see:
Britner, P. A., & Phillips, D. A. (1995). Predictors of parent
and provider satisfaction with child day care dimensions: A comparison
of center-based and family child day care. Child Welfare, 74
(6), 1135-1168.
_______________________________
Recommended web sites on child care quality, access, and choice
include:
NICHD
Study of Early Child Care: Findings (1999)
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/early_child_care.htm
The
Future of Children: Financing Child Care (1996)
http://www.futureofchildren.org/fin/index.htm
The
Future of Children: Long-Term Outcomes of Early Childhood
Programs (1995)
http://www.futureofchildren.org/lto/index.htm
Carnegie
Corporation: Quality Child Care Choices (1994)
http://www.futureofchildren.org/lto/index.htm
References
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between the attitudes and actions of parents choosing day care.
Child Care Quarterly, 15, 159-169.
Britner, P. A., & Phillips, D. A. (1995). Predictors of parent
and provider satisfaction with child day care dimensions: A comparison
of center-based and family child day care. Child Welfare, 74
(6), 1135-1168.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments
by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Erdwins, C. J., Casper, W. J., & Buffardi, L. C. (1998).
Child care satisfaction: The effects of parental gender and type
of care used. Child and Youth Care Forum, 27 (2), 111-123.
Garbarino, J. (1992). Children and families in the social environment.
New York: Aldine.
Hofferth, S. L., Brayfield, A., Deich, S., & Holcomb, P. (1991).
The national child care survey, 1990. Washington, DC: Urban Institute
Press.
Honig, A. S. (1979). Parent involvement in early childhood education
(Rev. Ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education
of Young Children.
Kontos, S. (1993, March). The ecology of family day care. Paper
presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child
Development, New Orleans, LA.
Long, F., Peter, D. L., & Garduque, L. (1985). Continuity
between home and day care: A model for defining relevant dimensions
of child care. Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology, 1,
131-170.
Manlove, E. E., & Guzell, J. R. (1997). Intention to leave,
anticipated reasons for leaving, and 12-month turnover of child
care center staff. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12 (2),
145-167.
Pence, A. R., & Goelman, H. (1987). Silent partners: Parents
of children in three types of day care. Early Childhood Research
Quarterly, 2, 103-118.
Powell, D. R. (1989). Families and early childhood programs. Washington,
DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Schumacher, J., & DeMeis, D. K. (1992). Child care as a social
support system for employed mothers (Unpublished manuscript).
Shinn, M., Phillips, D., Howes, C., Galinsky, E., & Whitebook,
M. (1991). Correspondence between mothers' perceptions and observer
ratings of quality in child care centers (Unpublished manuscript).
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A review and re-examination of the data and their implications.
Early Education and Development, 9 (3), 239-259.
Todd, C. M., & Deery-Schmitt, D. (1996). Factors affecting
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Table 1
Dimensions of Care Deemed "Important" by Family
Day Care Parents and Providers
Dimensions Items
Structural Quality Physical facility
Health and safety
Group size
Security precautions
Provider-child ratio
Space for children
Interactive Quality Opportunity to learn
Parent visiting welcome
Warmth of the provider
Day to day activities
Attention child receives
Discipline
Convenience Cost
Hours program open
Flexibility to come late
Location
Rules of the setting
_____
NOTE: Each dimension has a coefficient alpha over .75, indicating
adequate internal consistency.
Table 2
Dimensions of Care Deemed "Important" by Center
Parents and Providers
Dimensions Items
Structural Quality Physical facility
Health and safety
Group size
Security precautions
Provider-child ratio
Space for children
Compliance with state standards
Interactive Quality Opportunity to learn
Parent visiting welcome
Warmth of the provider
Day to day activities
Attention child receives
Discipline
Appropriate toys and equipment
Communication Verbal communication
Written communication
Parent-provider conferences
Involvement Volunteer, in setting
Fund-raising
Attend social functions
Select staff
Review budget
Choose activities
Volunteer, outside setting
Attend workshop
_____
NOTE: Each dimension has a coefficient alpha over .75, indicating
adequate internal consistency.